Chapter 2 of The Cry at Midnight is here in full — 435 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Cry at Midnight is here in full — 435 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"The only place she could have gone is under the dock," Penny said, her eyebrows knitting into a puzzled frown. "_Under_ it?" "That's what she must have done," Penny insisted. "I suppose the planking would give some protection from the storm." The snow was coming down harder now than ever, in huge flakes.
Chapter 2 of The Cry at Midnight is here in full — 435 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/87 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
an enclosure in a court of law where the defendant sits during the trial
From this reading “"The only place she could have gone is under the dock," Penny said, her eyebrows knitting into a puzzled frown.”
plural of “eyebrow” — the arch of hair above each eye
From this reading “"The only place she could have gone is under the dock," Penny said, her eyebrows knitting into a puzzled frown.”
plural of “flake” — a crystal of snow
From this reading “The snow was coming down harder now than ever, in huge flakes.”
look angry or sullen, wrinkle one's forehead, as if to signal disapproval
From this reading “"The only place she could have gone is under the dock," Penny said, her eyebrows knitting into a puzzled frown.”
comparative of “hard” — with effort or force or vigor
From this reading “The snow was coming down harder now than ever, in huge flakes.”
needlework created by interlacing yarn in a series of connected loops using straight eyeless needles or by machine
From this reading “"The only place she could have gone is under the dock," Penny said, her eyebrows knitting into a puzzled frown.”
a fractional monetary unit of Ireland and the United Kingdom; equal to one hundredth of a pound
From this reading “"The only place she could have gone is under the dock," Penny said, her eyebrows knitting into a puzzled frown.”
planks collectively; a quantity of planks
From this reading “"I suppose the planking would give some protection from the storm."”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading "The only place she could have gone is under the dock," Penny said, her eyebrows knitting into a puzzled frown.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading The snow was coming down harder now than ever, in huge flakes.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading "The only place she could have gone is under the dock," Penny said, her eyebrows knitting into a puzzled frown.
an enclosure in a court of law where the defendant sits during the trial
From this reading "The only place she could have gone is under the dock," Penny said, her eyebrows knitting into a puzzled frown.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading "That's what she must have done," Penny insisted.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading The snow was coming down harder now than ever, in huge flakes.
at any time
From this reading The snow was coming down harder now than ever, in huge flakes.
plural of “eyebrow” — the arch of hair above each eye
From this reading "The only place she could have gone is under the dock," Penny said, her eyebrows knitting into a puzzled frown.
plural of “flake” — a crystal of snow
From this reading The snow was coming down harder now than ever, in huge flakes.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading "I suppose the planking would give some protection from the storm."
look angry or sullen, wrinkle one's forehead, as if to signal disapproval
From this reading "The only place she could have gone is under the dock," Penny said, her eyebrows knitting into a puzzled frown.
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading "I suppose the planking would give some protection from the storm."
destroyed or killed
From this reading "The only place she could have gone is under the dock," Penny said, her eyebrows knitting into a puzzled frown.
comparative of “hard” — with effort or force or vigor
From this reading The snow was coming down harder now than ever, in huge flakes.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "The only place she could have gone is under the dock," Penny said, her eyebrows knitting into a puzzled frown.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "The only place she could have gone is under the dock," Penny said, her eyebrows knitting into a puzzled frown.
unusually great in size or amount or degree or especially extent or scope
From this reading The snow was coming down harder now than ever, in huge flakes.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I suppose the planking would give some protection from the storm."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The snow was coming down harder now than ever, in huge flakes.
past form of “insist” — be emphatic or resolute and refuse to budge
From this reading "That's what she must have done," Penny insisted.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading "The only place she could have gone is under the dock," Penny said, her eyebrows knitting into a puzzled frown.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "The only place she could have gone is under the dock," Penny said, her eyebrows knitting into a puzzled frown.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "_Under_ it?"
needlework created by interlacing yarn in a series of connected loops using straight eyeless needles or by machine
From this reading "The only place she could have gone is under the dock," Penny said, her eyebrows knitting into a puzzled frown.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading "That's what she must have done," Penny insisted.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading The snow was coming down harder now than ever, in huge flakes.
and nothing more
From this reading "The only place she could have gone is under the dock," Penny said, her eyebrows knitting into a puzzled frown.
a fractional monetary unit of Ireland and the United Kingdom; equal to one hundredth of a pound
From this reading "The only place she could have gone is under the dock," Penny said, her eyebrows knitting into a puzzled frown.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading "The only place she could have gone is under the dock," Penny said, her eyebrows knitting into a puzzled frown.
planks collectively; a quantity of planks
From this reading "I suppose the planking would give some protection from the storm."
the activity of protecting someone or something
From this reading "I suppose the planking would give some protection from the storm."
filled with bewilderment
From this reading "The only place she could have gone is under the dock," Penny said, her eyebrows knitting into a puzzled frown.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "The only place she could have gone is under the dock," Penny said, her eyebrows knitting into a puzzled frown.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "The only place she could have gone is under the dock," Penny said, her eyebrows knitting into a puzzled frown.
precipitation falling from clouds in the form of ice crystals
From this reading The snow was coming down harder now than ever, in huge flakes.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading "I suppose the planking would give some protection from the storm."
behave violently, as if in state of a great anger
From this reading "I suppose the planking would give some protection from the storm."
express a supposition
From this reading "I suppose the planking would give some protection from the storm."
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading The snow was coming down harder now than ever, in huge flakes.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "That's what she must have done," Penny insisted.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "The only place she could have gone is under the dock," Penny said, her eyebrows knitting into a puzzled frown.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading "The only place she could have gone is under the dock," Penny said, her eyebrows knitting into a puzzled frown.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The snow was coming down harder now than ever, in huge flakes.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "That's what she must have done," Penny insisted.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading "I suppose the planking would give some protection from the storm."
Chapter 2 of The Cry at Midnight by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt holds 435 sentences, grouped into 87 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 2 holds 435 sentences of The Cry at Midnight, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Cry at Midnight by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 435 sentences, grouped into 87 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 2 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading The Cry at Midnight by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3881 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #34441 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #34441, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 323 minutes of reading across 777 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Cry at Midnight section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of The Cry at Midnight to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The Cry at Midnight, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
